The LA Galaxy needed to raise their intensity against a desperate Colorado Rapids side and did just that in their victory on Friday night.

From the opening whistle, the Galaxy put the Rapids under pressure through the swift passing of Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho. In particular, it was Sarvas who led the charge as he and his Brazilian counterpart were able to create several dangerous scoring chances in the game’s opening minutes.

This pressure paid off in the 15th minute as LA took the lead on a beautiful five pass buildup that included touches by Sarvas, Sean Franklin, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan ultimately ending in Keane’s opening goal.

WILHELMSSON’S STELLAR DEBUT

It took just one game for Christian Wilhelmsson to prove his worth to the LA Galaxy.

Making his first career MLS start less than two weeks after joining the club, Wilhelmsson was effective from the start as he repeatedly gave Colorado’s defenders fits with his active play on LA’s left flank. While Wilhelmsson’s abilities going forward were widely known, where the Swedish International truly excelled was on the defensive end as he showed a willingness to not only track back on defense, but fight for loose balls with defenders.

Wilhelmsson displayed this grit in the 58th minute as he tallied his first career MLS goal. After a Sarvas pass found Wilhelmsson up field, the Swede was able to find his way around a pair of Colorado defenders and goalkeeper Matt Pickens before firing into an empty net for LA’s second goal.

SAUNDERS AND THE “FAB FOUR” STOP COLORADO

Despite the score line, the Colorado Rapids provided more than a few nervy moments for the LA Galaxy on Friday, but LA’s defense proved up to the task.

After LA’s goal in the first 15 minutes, the Rapids controlled wide stretches of the late first half and early second half. However, despite being tested repeatedly, the Galaxy back four was able to routinely snuff out chances or make last second clearances. None larger than Sarvas’ last second clearance to stop a certain goal from Colorado’s Conor Casey.

Not to be out done, despite making just a single save, Josh Saunders’ positioning allowed him to prevent many dangerous Rapids forays into the box.